The monk's meal and the morning alms (tak bat)

Tak bat, the giving of food to monks in the early morning, belongs to the Theravada Buddhist practice that has shaped the Thai table for centuries. The monk does not ask for food but walks with his bowl, and the householder gives; this relation between the monastic community and the laity is the root of the custom. David Thompson, in Thai Food, treats the offering of food to monks as a central act of merit in Thai life, and it is from this act that much of the Thai attitude to the meal and to generosity descends.

The morning round begins before the heat of the day. Monks walk barefoot with their alms bowls, and the laity wait at the roadside or at their doors to place food in the bowls. The first food of the day goes to the monks, and what the household itself eats follows after. Thompson describes the giving of food as an act of merit, and the cook who prepares it does so with that purpose in mind rather than for any display of skill. What is given is the ordinary food of the house: rice above all, with curries, relishes and other dishes that can be carried and kept. Rice is the offering that matters most, and it is placed in the bowl first, with the dishes beside it. Because the monks eat what they are given, the household's food is put before them as it is cooked for the family, and the offering therefore reflects the table of its region and season. The monks' meal, taken in the temple, is governed by the monastic rules. Thompson notes that monks eat only in the morning and until midday, and that the food they receive is eaten without choice or complaint. The laity, for their part, also bring food to the temple on days of observance and on occasions such as funerals and anniversaries, when a meal is prepared for the monks as a mark of respect and a means of making merit for the living and the dead. The practice has left its mark on the Thai kitchen. The idea that food is first a gift, and that the best of it should be offered before it is eaten, explains the care with which dishes are prepared for ceremonial use and the shared character of the Thai meal. A household that gives to the monks is also a household that shares at its own table, and the two habits belong together.